A Mother's Influence
by Cristalake
Summary: What if Kagome had been there when the Kyuubi attacked? OFFICIALLY A MULTI CHAPTER!
1. A Mother scolds

Hey people. Here's a super short (probably) one-shot that I decided to start like, a year ago, and finally got around to writing. I'd just like to mention that while I know InuYasha quite well, most of my info about Naruto comes from (hundreds of) fanfics. If you see something wonky about it, leave a review and I'll fix it (maybe... if I stop acting like the female version of Nara Shikamaru.) Anywayyyy... On with the story!

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Oh yeah.... Disclaimer.

*clears throat* I (insert real name here/ Cristalake) ** ABSOLUTELY **_**DO NOT**_ own Naruto (Owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Shounen Jump and other people/companie(s)) **AND/OR** InuYasha (owned by Rumiko Takahashi and other people/companie(s)).

I hope that's clear enough for you.

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Pillars of fire rose up, smoke ascending from the crumbling remains of the buildings. All around, civilians could be witnessed dashing to and fro in a frenzied manner. Men, women and children ran, abandoning their homes and their belongings without a backwards glance, all united in their overwhelming need to escape from the monstrous beast that was currently ravaging their beloved village. Konohagakure no Sato*, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, stood tall, straining to resist the unstoppable force of nature who was doing its absolute best to bring it to the ground. The crumbling buildings shook ominously, their (admittedly very well done, even for a shinobi* village) barely standing up to the Kyuubi's invasion. Many residences laid in ruins amidst the thick trees of the Fire Country and more were falling every minute.

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Higurashi Kagome was just your average 18 year old high school dropout. Well, if you ignored the fact that she was actually the reincarnation of a long dead priestess, once held a magical jewel of incredible power inside her body without ever realising it, destroyed said jewel accidentally due to an inability to shoot an arrow properly, spent much of her teenage years traipsing about 500 years in the past with two-demons, a half-demon, 1 (perverted) monk and a demon-slayer and possessed supernatural powers of purification capable of incinerating any demon who was unlucky enough to come into contact with it.

Other than that, she was normal enough.

Higurashi Kagome had recently managed to free herself from a heavy bout of depression. When the complete Shikon no Tama* had been completed three years ago and she had found herself sent back to her time period without even a chance of saying goodbye to her friends, she had been heart-broken. She spent year miserable, periodically flinging herself into the Bone Eater's well in a desperate attempt of going back. After three sprained ankles and one broken wrist, she had had no choice but to accept the fact that she wasn't going back.

She then spent the next year of her life depressed, bursting into tears at any reminder of her friends from the past and, only when her mother had been rushed to the hospital for a heart-attack because of the stress caused by seeing her only daughter so despondent, had she finally snapped out of it and painstakingly decided to move on with her life.

That morning, Kagome woke up early (for once) and took a nice steamy fifteen minute shower before dressing in a plain black knee-length dress and heading down for breakfast. "Kagome, can you please sweep up in the well house before you head to work? It's getting a bit dusty" her mother asked. Kagome, having time to spare, agreed and made her way outside of the Sunset Shrine which doubled as her home.

Kagome slid the screen aside and picked up the broom laying against the wall. She began to sweep, the slow monotonous movements leaving her thoughts free to roam. She quirked an absent-minded smile as she thought of her early teenaged years where she would have come into this very same well house, picked up her big yellow backpack which she, even now, kept fully stocked with every essential to surviving life in sengoku jidai. It still struck her as miraculous that the poor thing was still alive after all the hardships it had gone through. Kagome sniffled and felt her eyes prickle ominously. _Not again_, she thought. _I thought that I had finished crying by now. Apparently not_.

At that moment, an odd sound seemed to well up from the well. Kagome put her broom down and approached the opening cautiously, hope swelling inside her. It was that same, foolish, hope which made her snag her yellow backpack from where it rested nearby in a patch of upswept dust. As she leaned over the well, a yellow strap strung over her shoulder and peered down, a distant part of her was chanting _please, please, please_. That part kept chanting, when a sudden bright red light shone from the bottom, enveloped her figure and dragged her down into its depths.

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On the edges of Konohagakure no Sato a strange phenomenon occurred. The nearby trees were suddenly lighted up in red which then rapidly faded to a pale, pure, pink. They rustled ominously and, besides the sound of leaves shifting against one another, naught was heard. Without warning, a young girl was unceremoniously drooped onto the woodland floor from about a foot in the air. She ended on her behind with a muffled THUMP.

Higurashi Kagome slowly stood up, dusted off her skirt and massaged her sore rump as she looked around her. "This isn't Inuyasha's forest" she said then smacked her forehead. "Duh! Captain obvious." Kagome sighed. "OK. I have to find people" Just then, screams rang out, followed by a loud roar. Kagome sweat dropped. "Oook... Over there then." She hitched her backpack up on her shoulders again and set off determinately towards the sounds of chaos, sparing only a short though of regret for her long-lost bow and arrows.

Kagome stumbled through the clearing of trees, twigs sticking out in odd directions out of her hair, and looked around her, mouth wide opened. "What happened?" she asked. Only rarely had she seen such rampant destruction and, even the, only when many powerful demons decided to attack a village simultaneously.

Distant screams made her head rise up only to see smoke spiralling upwards, entwined with ash floating on the wind of a burning city. Kagome squared her shoulders and began to run. She'd just barely stepped foot into the burning town when a young oddly dressed boy with gravity-defying silver hair and only one exposed eye grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. "The civilian barracks are that way" he said, pointing in the direction opposite to where she was going. Kagome was about to reply when she felt it. The heavy killing intent that accompanied all strong youkai's*auras which made her miko* aura crackle in response directly under her skin.

Kagome gasped. "That aura" she said. "I'd know that aura anywhere!" Ignoring the boy prodding her westwards, she ripped her arm from his grasps and ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards its source. Muttered curses and hurried steps let her know that the boy was following her. Soon, Kagome reached what seems to have once been a town square but which was now mostly razed to the ground. Only a few buildings were left standing. Amidst them, a giant 300-foot tall demon fox stood, nine long tails thrashing gracefully behind it, destroying whatever they happened to touch.

Kagome cast her gaze around and saw a fire ladder on one of the mostly unmarked buildings. She quickly headed for it and began to climb. The hot metal scorched her hands but she persevered and, in no time, found herself on the room of a 20 story edifice, accompanied by the silver-haired boy. She looked around for something she could use and caught sight of a half-destroyed brick. It was bigger than her admittedly small hands but was not to heavy. She could probably throw it far enough using both hands, Kagome knew.

She let her heavy backpack fall to her feet, picked up her projectile and closed her eyes briefly to better channel her purification powers into the unorthodox weapon. Kaede, the elderly priestess, had taught her how to channel her powers into just about anything but she would be the first to admit that she lacked practice. Her eyes popped open, glowing with determination as the brick shone a soft pink between her dainty fingers. "Hit the mark!" Kagome prayed as she threw the projectile with all her strength at her huge target.

The brick hid the back of the beast's hind left leg and it roared in pain as a small (considering its size) blister immediately formed. At her side, Kagome could hear the boy gasp in shock. "How..." he began, but she paid him no mind. Her tactic had worked and the demon fox was turning away from the man perched on the head of a GIANT TOAD!?!? to come towards her. It foamed angrily at the mouth and roared at the pesky human who dared to harm it.

Kagome swallowed but squared her shoulders and gathered her courage. Besides her, she could see the boy lift an odd looking knife and begin to tremble inconspicuously. She licked her dry lips and, using her sternest voice, placed a hand on her hip, stretched the other out in front of her and yelled as loudly as she could.

"SHIPPO! OSUWARI*!"

To the surrounding people's shock (Kagome only vaguely noticed that over a hundred people seemed to be gathered at the fox's feet, most holding the same strange weapons as her companion's) The demon fox slowed down. It stopped in front of the building and tilted its head curiously, acidic foam now falling from its jaw at a much slower speed.

"I said SIT!!!!!"

The fox obeyed. It set down its front paws on the building, the roof crumbling a bit beneath their weight, and rested its head gently on top. The madness in its red eyes seemed to dim.

"Shippo" Kagome began. "If you know what's good for you, you're going to change back into you human force RIGHT NOW!" The fox seemed not to take well to her threatening tone and growled. To the witness's utter horror, Kagome not only stood her ground, she approached the beast, lifted her hand high in the air and delivered a stinging slap (amplified by just a touch of purification powers) to the beast's snout.

The Kyuubi whimpered and placed its fronts paws on the abused limb. "Don't you growl at ME young man!" Kagome shouted. "You may be a 300 foot tall demon but I'M STILL YOU'RE MOTHER and I'm NOT afraid to bend you over my knee and give you a firm spanking like you deserve!"

Everyone's eyes widened. As they watched, the Kyuubi was enveloped in a swirl of red youki* and, when it cleared, a young boy, maybe 12 at the most stood at barely a few inches over the diminutive woman. His waist length red hair was tied back in a ponytail, held by a green bow and he wore traditional brown hakama* pants and a green vest with orange and red leaves sewed onto the garment. He would have looked like any other (particularly handsome) young man, were it not for the nine fluffy auburnish-red tails swaying behind him.

Kagome approached the sheepishly grinning, slouched youth and grabbed a delicately pointed ear. She twisted viciously, knowing from experience how sensitive demon ears were, and ignoring the yelps of pain coming from said ears abused owner. "WHAT were you thinking! Attacking a town like this for no good reason! I've taught you better than this!"

At that moment, a young blond man, the same one who'd been standing on the giant toad's head earlier, leapt from his previous perch onto the building's roof where Kagome was still ferociously chewing out her adoptive son.

"Not to be rude but who the HELL are you?"

Kagome blushed and, still without letting go of Shippo's ear, bowed forcing the demon into following her action or risk the loss of a hearing appendage.

"I'm very sorry for my rudeness. I am Higurashi Kagome and this is my adopted son Shippo. I don't know what came into him. Shippo is normally a very kind boy. Wouldn't hurt a fly! Honestly! I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for his behaviour and extend our services to you in order to make up for any damage caused. I'm a decent medic and can help with any wounded you have and Shippo is very strong and is willing to help with the reconstruction of whatever he may have broken. Right Shippo?" she finished her rant by sending an evil, dark glare at the boy who's ear had still not been released.

"Of course." he said. "I'm very sorry for all the trouble I've caused" Shippo bowed deeply at the Yondaime Hokage*.

The man sweatdropped and gazed around at his incredulous shinobi. "Right... Why don't we go and discuss this further in my office."

Both Kagome and Shippo agreed. The young woman finally released her son's ear and he picked her up as well as her backpack to leap from the building towards the Hokage Tower* after the blond man, a large patrol of ANBU* taking up the rear.

In front of the demon-boy and his kin, Namikaze Minato hugged his newborn son tightly to his chest. Partially to protect him form the rushing winds which accompanied the speed of travel they were using but mostly out of relief. He heaved a sigh and looked up momentarily at the sky as he thanked whatever God had seen fit to set this most unexpected development in his path and save both his, and his son's life. _I'm so grateful, I won't even complain about the paperwork that this is bound to cause,_ he thought.

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Aaaaaand that's about it. This will probably be a one-shot, I may consider making it into a two-shot or more depending on the number of people who show an interest for it. Note however that this has no real plot so if you want to see something epic come from this, then you better be prepared to give me a plot... Or you can just take the idea and run with it, as long as I get some credit (even if it's just a Kudos to Cristalake!)

I know this isn't exactly my best work and I've got a million and one excuses. One of them being that it's 1 AM as I'm writing this and, unlike some, I DO NOT write well at night. The other being that I don't have a Beta. Another reason is that I barely spell-checked this, I didn't have (or didn't feel like tacking) all the time necessary to make this be truly and lastly, I'm just plain lazy (as indicated in my above AN) HOWEVER I _WILL_ re-edit this one day (soon) and modify it so it's a bit better since it's basically a rough draft. For now though.... deal.

Cristalake out! :-)

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p.s Japenese lexicon (I try not to use too much cuz this isn't Japanese 101 but if something is originally in Japanese in the manga/anime, was learned by yours truly in Japanese or sounds just plain stupid in English, I'll gladly use the language to the best of my capacities and will try to always put a lexicon at the end cuz I know how frustrating it is to not have one.):

**Konoha gakure no Sato **

Litterally _The Village Hidden in the Leaf_. Konoha gakure means "Hidden Leaf" and just plain Konoha simply means "Leaf". This is Naruto's hometown and is, if I'm not mistaken (cuz I suck in geograpgy as much in real life as I do in anime) smack dab in the middle of Fire Country.

**Shinobi**

Means ninja. A _kunoichi_ is a female ninja and while shinobi technically refers only to males, it's often used for both sexes.

**Shikon no Tama**

Proper to the Inuyasha-verse. It means _Jewel of four Souls_ and is the magic gem around which the whole series is based.

**Youkai**

Means something along the lines of demon. Technically, it's a malignant spirit or something like that but it's more often translated to as being "demon" so I'll stick with that.

**Youki**

It's the aforementioned evil energy demons are all supposedly made of. It'S also used to represent the aura they exude.

**Miko**

Means priestess, which in Inuyasha, is a woman with powers of purification that can "purify a demon" and since they are technically made of an evil essence (in theory) it kills them.

**Osuwari**

The command used by Kagome to subdue Inuyasha. It means SIT! but you couldn't ask a person to please kindly _osuwari_ on a chair since it's a command used for dog training and would be highly offensive used in context with a person.

**Hakama**

Traditional japenese pants that look kinda like a skirt. Inuyasha wears them.

**Yondaime Hokage**

Literally means _4th Fire Shadow._ A Kage is the leader of a ninja village and the title means "shadow"

Examples: Kazekage (Wind + Shadow = Windshadow), Raikage (Lightning + shadow = Lighting Shadow) etch...

Yondaime is a number placed in front of the title to represent the number of leader who've come before. Examples: GOdaime = 5th, YONdaime = 4th, SANdaime = 3rd, NIdaime = 2nd etch...

**Hokage Tower**

Administrative center of Konoha, possibly where the Hokage lives (Though that's, as far as I know, not confirmed. Though with the mount of paperwork the job entails, they might as well.)

**ANBU**

Dunno what the individual letters mean but they're the elite and highly trained assassins who take on the most dangerous missions and also serve as the Hokage's personal bodyguards should the need arise.

**Sengoku jidai**

Feudal era, roughly 500 years in the past from now. The time period where (or is it when) Kagome goes when she jumps down her magic well. It's called that way because of the numerous civil wars that went on during that period.


	2. A Mother Comforts

CHAPTER 2

Here it is ladies and gents. (Much) Later then I promised but there. Did I mention that I have a huge problem with procrastination? Well I do. It's a chronic disease I tell you!

ok. I'm starting now. (man. What a lame announcement -_-)

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Minato, tailed by Shippo and a large patrol of ANBU finally made there way to the Hokage Tower which the blond man decided to enter using the front door instead of the window, as was customary in the shinobi world. Kushina*, a pang flew across his body at the memory of his late best-friend and past crush, always used to say that if someone wanted to sneak into a ninja household they only had to go through the front door. Shinobi were so unused to anyone arriving by the door that they probably wouldn't even bother to lock it.

Minato cradled Naruto resisting the urge to nuzzle his face into the newborn's fine blond hair. It wouldn't do to show any weakness even if his village had just narrowly escaped from total destruction and his son the sad fate of all Jinchuuriki* and he was just so _so_ exhausted and wanted nothing more to close his eyes and sleep the stress away for a week.

The young Hokage blinked as he realised that they were already at his office. it seemed that he'd spent more time lost in his thoughts then he's thought. With a firm mental scolding (he couldn't afford to zone out like that even if there was an entire flock of ANBU at his back and his "guests" seemed harmless) Minato pushed open the door and gestured for the fox demon and his seemingly human "mother" to go in.

The man sat at his desk and cradle his son in the crook of his arm silently. He's have to see about getting a cradle placed in his office for the days where he'd be unable to find a caretaker for Naruto.

Minato sat stiffly and levelled a severe glare at the duo sitting across him. "You have already given me your names. Now I would like to know which village you are affiliated with and how you managed to make your way past the boundaries of Konohagakure." The question was quite obviously aimed at Kagome. The girl mimicked the solemn Hokage by straightening her posture as well even if she wanted to do nothing more then quail at his intimidating aura.

It was utterly unfair, Kagome found, that the man could appear so terrifying while cradling a newborn babe in his arm when she herself had won battles in the past by shooting enemies who were too busy laughing uproariously at her (admittedly pathetic) growls to defend themselves.

"I come from a land which you may not have heard of called Tokyo..." Kagome trailed off, indicating silently that she did not know what to call the man before her.

"You may refer to me as Hokage-sama" Minato said.

Kagome nodded. "I come from a land called Tokyo, in Japan. However I have no idea where _or when, _she thought to herself, that is in relation to here. As for how I managed to get into this town, Konohagakure I believe, I really have no clue. One second I'm standing in the well house in the shrine where I live, the next I fall down the well and land in the middle of an odd forest with ridiculously huge trees. The only reason why I managed to find the town at all was because I followed the sound of screaming.

Minato nodded in acceptance. He could find nothing in her body language that indicated that she was lying. Either this girl, no woman, before him was quite the accomplished liar to be able to fool so completely the Hokage or she was telling the truth. Yet, he had never heard of Tokyo, or Japan before and, while he was not the most accomplished geographer, Minato was certain that he'd have remembered the name of a place where the kunnoichi* were so powerful that they could reign in forces like the bijuu*.

"If you were not expecting your arrival here then why did you bring a bag filled with supplies with you" he asked, immediately spotting a hole in her explications. "It was a coincidence. I was... going to school and heard a noise in the well house and decided to go check it out."

Kagome's ears reddened a bit and she fidgeted in her chair, her gaze flitting rapidly back and forth form his face to the wall behind his left ear. The raven's whole body language was so revealing that Minato almost winced. She was definitely NOT a kunnoichi. No self-respecting ninja would ever be such a bad liar.

Minato's eyes narrowed. Unless she wanted to through him off her track and lower his suspicion of her by attempting to look harmless. It was a common kunnoichi tactic. Attempt to look harmless and then stab the unsuspecting enemy in the back. "If that is the case, the man said, I'm certain that you won't mind if we go through you're bag. I can assure you that your... _schoolbooks_ will not be harmed." The way he said the word schoolbooks made it obvious that he thought it was highly unlikely that they would find anything of the sort in the large yellow monstrosity of a bag.

"No!" cried Kagome, making a lunging motion towards her bag but stopping herself midway. "I mean.. um. You really won't find anything interesting in there! Not even a diary. There's really no need."

By now the girl's face was bright pink even as she waved her arms in a negligent motion in front of her in a dissuading motion. Minato raised an eyebrow and inclined his head to an ANBU guard hidden in the corner, the barest hints of a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

The high-profile ninja appeared by the backpack, making Kagome give a small shriek of surprise, and began to negligently pull various items out and dropping them softly on the floor.

Paper, pencils and pens, packets of ramen after packets of ramen along with chocolate, a couple of colouring books, a well stocked first aid kit, spare clothing, a pair of small but warm and comfortable-looking fuzzy pink slippers and- Kagome gasped as her face turned beet red in utter mortification- a lacy blue thing.

The girl snatched the revealing item out of the masked nin's* hand, faster than would have been thought possible and stuffed it into her jean pocket in one fluid motion. Minato looked at her, his hazel eyes shining with barely suppressed amusement. 'Must be at least high chuunin* then, to be able to move so fast, he thought. Or extremely embarrassed.'

A few minutes later, everything had been extracted and the yellow backpack was looking significantly less full. "You were going to school then" Minato said mockingly. Kagome fidgeted and, barely even looking him in the face answered: "Yes. We were going on a field trip overnight."

The girl was so obviously lying that Minato did not even bother trying to hide his disbelieving snort. Little Naruto shifted against his chest before settling back down to sleep in a more comfortable position. Minato spared only the quickest glance towards him before glaring once more at Kagome. "That is a lie" he said. The raven-haired woman flushed.

"No it's-

Don't presume to take me for a fool Higurashi-san." Minato spoke in an icy tone.

"I did not acquire the position of Lord Hokage for nothing and to thing that your lying skill, so mediocre that even the dumbest of academy neophytes wouldn't be fooled is insulting."

Kagome shifted guiltily but did not try to deny it again. "I ask you once more. Were you planning to come here."

That time, the miko looked him directly in the eye when she answered no. "It was not my intention to come to Konohagakure and I really _did_ fall through the well purely by accident." Minato pursed his lips the slightest bit at her unplanned confession.

Fell _through_ the well. Not fell _down_ it. What an odd wording. It was possible that it was simply a slip if the tongue or some bad grammar but this girl looked smart and was obviously well educated if her first attempt at a (truly horribly told) lie was that she was going to school. The Yondaime had a feeling that the wording behind that sentence was more important than it seemed. He resolved to think about it at a later time.

"Were were you planning to go that required that you have a bag packed with all these items."

"To visit some friends whom I hadn't seen in a while" Kagome answered. Minato could sense that while she was not being entirely truthful, she was not lying this time around.

"And the first-aid kit."

"One of my friends tends to get hurt a lot and hates going to hospitals so I often end up patching him up." Kagome noticed that all of the Hokage's questions were formulated in a manner that sounded more like orders then traditional interrogati- er- questioning. It was quite annoying.

Minato nodded, deciding to switch to questioning another poor victim instead and angled his body towards Shippo. "Why did you see fit to spontaneously decide to attack our village. Your 'mother' assures us that you are quite the _peaceful_ being but I have seen no proof of this."

Kagome turned her attention over to Shippo, also wanting to know the answer. The fox kits eyes narrowed as he gazed at the far wall in an absent-minded way.

"I... I'm not sure. I was in playing in Inuyasha's forest when I found myself falling through this portal. The next thing I know, I appeared in some strange place. I... I think that it was a cave in a mountain but I'm not sure. It was dark and my eyes were just beginning to adjust to the sudden change in lighting when this... man, or at least I think it was a man, came out of nowhere. I really don't know what happened next. I just remember feeling so _angry_ and there was this picture stuck in my head that just wouldn't get out."

Shippo reached over the Hokage's desk and picked up a stray brush, quickly dipped it into a jar of ink and did a quick sketch on the back of an empty sheet of paper. The (admittedly well drawn) picture depicted a circle with three small scythe like marks placed in a circular shape within it. Minato's felt his chest seize up with an odd sense of forbidding. It was easy to recognize the signature Uchiha kekkai genkkai*, even with the strange new shape it seemed to have manifested, supposing the demon-child's drawing was accurate. The blond-haired Hokage nodded in encouragement at Shippo who continued to speak.

"After that all I could think about was destroying Konoha, which is odd since I didn't even know that someplace called Konoha existed before today. I just ran here as fast as I could and began destroying everything. I was so angry I just wanted to kill and burn and see the whole village reduced to ashes and I don't even know why! It's not as if you people ever did anything to me. I just don't know! I don't and I'm sorry, so so very sorry but I was so angry and don't even know why but I'm so-"

Kagome put her hand on her adopted son's arm and squeezed gently, her blue eyes glowing in sympathy. 'It's alright', they promised. 'Everything's going to be ok. I'll take care of you.' Shippo immediately felt himself relax and his tails stopped thrashing behind him and instead rested limply on the floor, showing the sudden exhaustion that he felt. For a moment, the fox demon wished that he was just a tiny kit again so that he could wiggle his way onto his mama's lap like he used to do before and hind in the warm safety of her protective embrace.

"From what I hear it sounds as if you were being possessed or controlled by some kind of **jutsu***. Kagome nodded in agreement even though she was uncertain of the meaning of the odd word. She supposed that it was a different way of referencing to magic.

"That is the only logical solution. I _know_ that Shippo would never have done something so awful otherwise."

Even though Minato had only known the girl for a few minutes he could not help but feel almost convinced of what she was saying, if only because of how convinced she herself seemed. Nonetheless, the man had not arrived to the position of Hokage by allowing himself to be influenced by any doe-eyed maiden who happened to stroll along and had no intention of starting now.

"Be as that may, I hope that you understand that we simply _cannot_ believe you at face value. You will have to spend some time in out **T&I* **division so that we can be assured of you good intentions."

Kagome looked utterly bewildered. "But- but why? We just explained that none of this was Shippo's fault! He was being manipulated into it."

"It does not matter what I believe. What matters is what happens and how the village will take it. As Hokage, I have a duty to my people before all else. The ravage caused by your son's rampage can not be so easily forgiven and will not be forgotten soon, or possibly ever."

The man gesture towards the large windows at the side of the room and Kagome, taking his silent invitation, stood up and went to pull open the drapes. What she saw made her raise her hands to her mouth and gasp. "Dear God..."

Before her lay the village of Konohagakure no Sato, or what was left of it. Though Shippo, in his demon form, had only made it partway into the civilian sector, he had nonetheless managed to make a frightening amount of damage. From her position, high up on what was probably the highest (still standing) building in Konoha, Kagome could see miles of wrecked houses and barely standing buildings. If she squinted down at the streets, the miko was sure that she could se the bodies of wounded and dying civilians as well as the oddly dressed people with hitai-ate* which she supposed were the village's military force.

A distressed gasp behind her made the girl's head whirl to face Shippo's wide open eyes and green-tinged face. "Did I do all this" he asked, visibly nauseated at the thought of being able to single-handedly cause so much damage in so short a time.

Kagome could not find the words to comfort him. For the briefest of seconds, she felt a flash of fear. For the first time she realised that her little boy was not a cute human child which could do no serious harm to anyone. Shippo was a youkai*. A vicious killer by nature and no matter how much his inner demon may have been subjugated by her actions in raising him, he would still be first and foremost a demon.

Kagome began to draw back from him the slightest bit, not quite flinching yet but stopped when she saw his tear-filled eyes turn to her. Shame clearly filled his traits and was quite literally radiating form him in an aura of fiery red and blues. The girl admonished herself mentally even as she drew the quietly sobbing boy into her arms and held him. Even if he was able of rampant destruction and stood at over 300 feet at the shoulder, Shippo was still her son. Her child. Her kitling. And she would NOT abandon him. So what if he had an inner demon which would love nothing more then to break free and wreak havoc upon the world. She would be there to help him reign it in every single step of the way.

"It's going to be okay Shippo-chan*" Kagome whispered in his ear as she rocked him gently. "Mama's here. We're going to get through this together baby. It'll be ok."

They stayed in that same position for quite a while before Shippo managed to get his crying down to a reasonably controllable level. With several sniffles and a few hiccups, the red-haired boy drew away form her shoulder and took a step closer to the desk where Minato was watching silently.

Shippo bowed deeply at the waist in as humble a gesture he could give then rose back up and stared the Hokage directly in the face. "I give you my sincerest apologies for all the harm to you and your village which I have caused and will accept any punishment you deem just for my crimes."

Kagome moved to stand besides her son and bowed as well. "We will both cooperate with you and go peaceably to the T&I sector and give the most truthful and honest answers that we are able to."

Minato opened his mouth to give his consent but was interrupted by the raven-haired woman.

"BUT, first we will do what we can to help in the restoration of your village and the healing of your wounded. Shippo and, indirectly, I am partly responsible for all the destructions and deaths even though the majority of the blame lies on the shoulders of whoever it is that violated my son's mind in such a way and we WILL do whatever we can to help fix the situation. These are our terms."

With that Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, her chin tilted at a defiant angle and waited for the Hokage's sentence. Minato, on his side, could only stare at the tiny wisp of a woman, dumbstruck.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap kiddies! :-) Finally! It's done (and posted, yay! XD) Please note that this is unbetaed. I was so ashamed at tacking so long that I decided to publish it now and repost the chapter once it had been betaed.

I'd really like to know if my lexicon at the end is annoying/too long/utterly useless/riddled with mistakes. Please tell me if it is and as always:

REVIEW!!!! Tell me what you think! :-)

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p.s Japenese lexicon (I try not to use too much cuz this isn't Japanese 101 but if something is originally in Japanese in the manga/anime, was learned by yours truly in Japanese or sounds just plain stupid in English, I'll gladly use the language to the best of my capacities and will try to always put a lexicon at the end cuz I know how frustrating it is to not have one.)

**UZUMAKI KUSHINA**

Naruto's mother, an immigrant from the Land of Whirlpool which no longer exists since it was destroyed by Kumo (That's cloud for those of you who don't know) nin.

**KUNNOICHI**

Female ninja, usually specialising in seduction and espionnage.

**JINCHUURIKI **

Literally means: Human Sacrifice. It's what we call the people like Naruto, Gaara and Yugito Nii who are host to demons.

**BIJUU**

Litterally means: tailed beasts. Originally there was only one demon; the Juubi (Ten tailed) but it was defeated by the Rikudou Sennin (Sage of Six Paths) who split its power into the nine tailed beasts; the bijuu, going from the Ichibi Tanuki (One-tailed Racoon, Shukaku; Gaara's bijuu) to the Kyuubi Kitsune (Nine-tailed fox and Naruto's bijuu).

**Chakra**

A mix of mental and physical energies that shinobi use to do ninjutsu (spitting out fireballs, summoning giant toads etc...)

**JUTSU**

Kinda like magic but not since it's done using chakra which seems to be the same thing but really isn't since, as far as I can figure, magic is purely mental (and perhaps from the soul, depending which fandom you're in) while chakra also requires physical energy to use.

Example: a ninja who was unable to run for two miles without being exhausted (Would first of all not be a ninja) and would most probably be unable to use anything but the most basic of jutsu because their chakra levels would be too low. Oppositely, a wizard from say Harry Potter would be able to cast high level spells even if they were hopelessly out of shape and obese because physical strength is not a necessity in order to use magic.

**CHUUNIN**

Litterally means Journeyman (but that sounds plain stupid). They are the mid-level ranking for ninja. The ranks go as follows (from lowest to highest):

Academy Student, Gennin, Chuunin, Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin (Specialised Jounin, for example in interrogation or infiltration), ANBU, Sennin (of which only three exist) and finally: Hokage.

They usually take missions ranking, in order:

**Academy Students: **none/training, **Gennin:** D- to C- rank, **Chuunin: **B- to A- (if their really good) rank, **Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin:** A- to S (or SS if they're suicidal or really _really_ good) rank, **ANBU and Sennin:** S-SS rank(but the ANBU usually guard the Hokage and are elite assasins), **Hokage: **ridiculous amounts of paperwork/SSS rank (but those usually aren't lived through seeing as it's the equivalent of the Kyuubi being released and attacking Konoha in canon.)

**KEKKAI GENKKAI**

Means bloodline limit. It's a special mutation only present in certain families which gives them enhanced abilities. There are many types of kekkai genkkai but the Uchiha's is a special kind called a doujutsu.

Doujutsu are kekkai genkkai centered around the eyes. Examples are as follows: the Sharingan (belonging to the Uchiha) the Byakuugan (belonging to the Hyuuga), the Rinnegan (which is only present in one character: Nagato/Pein, in later chapters)

**T&I**

Torture and Interrogation department. Pretty self-explicatory I believe.

**HIATAI-ATE**

Means forehead protector: the bandana-thingies all ninja wear with a funny design on it which indicates their home village. The nuke-nin (missing-nin) somehow all manage to have a slash across their hitai-ate which indicate them to be defective ninja and free to be hunted by hunter-nin in search of a bounty.

**CHAN**

is an affectionnate suffix attached to a young child or a close female friend's name.

Other suffixes are kun (boys), san (people of mostly equal standing), sempai (And upperclassman), sensei (a teacher), sama (someone in a position of superior power like your boss... or the Hokage) and dono (someone so ridiculously above you in station you're never even going to get the chance to speak with them so this is absolutely useless information to know... someone like the Hokage. Or the president.)

**YOUKAI**

Means something along the lines of demon. Technically, it's a malignant spirit or something like that but it's more often translated to as being "demon" so I'll stick with that.

**Youki**

It's the aforementioned evil energy demons are all supposedly made of. It's also used to represent the aura they exude. You could say that it's a demon's chakra.


End file.
